You Gotta Know When to Holden
by Lady Emily
Summary: During season one, Cody finds himself an unwilling participant in Bailey's quest to impress Holden.
1. The Course of Truly Entertaining

A/N: Hey all, I'm back with my longest, most drama-filled Suite Life fic yet. It's a little different that what I usually write, but I hope you like it. All you need to know is that it starts immediately after the season one "Boo You" episode, but the timeline of the series has been slightly tweaked for my amusement. You'll figure it out. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and am not making any profit from the writing of this story.

* * *

_The Course of Truly Entertaining Web-Based Television Never Did Run Smooth_

It was a balmy, beautiful evening at sea. A warm breeze ruffled Cody Martin's hair as he walked along the deck of the S.S. Tipton toward his cabin. The full moon bathed the Sky Deck in a soft, natural light. Cody paused for a minute to note that the Sky Deck was strangely silent, considering the warm temperature and starlit setting.

He heard a faint noise off to the port side and started a little as he realized he was not alone. Bailey Pickett, the girl he'd had a crush on for months, was leaning against the rail. She hadn't seen him yet, and for a minute, Cody just watched her stare out to sea, her long silky hair blowing loosely around her face. He almost left without disturbing her, until he noticed her shoulders shake slightly. She was crying.

Biting his lip, he gathered his courage and approached her slowly. "Bailey?"

Startled, Bailey jumped and looked in the opposite direction, hiding her face while she quickly swiped at her tears. "Oh, hi! You came ba-" she turned to him with a bright smile, which faded as she recognized him. "Oh. Cody. Hi."

Cody was disheartened by her disappointed reaction- she'd obviously been expecting someone she'd rather see. "Hi." he returned, beginning to second guess his decision to come over, but mesmerized by her red-rimmed eyes. She was clearly upset- he at least had to try to make her feel better. "Are you okay?"

"What? Yes, of course." Bailey said quickly, pretending nothing was wrong. "Are you?"

"Yes." Cody leaned against the rail beside her and stared into the blackness of the water. "But then, I'm not the one crying out here all by herself." he said pointedly, before making a quick amendment. "Himself. Myself." he took a deep breath, closing his eyes in embarrassment. "You know what I mean." he started again. "What's wrong?"

Bailey just turned her head away, scuffing her shoe along the deck. "Nothing. I'm just..."

When she didn't finish, Cody pressed her gently. "You know you can talk to me, Bailey. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Of course we are." Bailey said slowly, meeting his gaze for the first time. "It's just embarrassing, that's all."

Cody smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way. "You think I don't know embarrassment? I embarrass myself more before breakfast every day than most people do in a year." he joked. "What happened?"

Bailey twisted a lock of hair around her finger, obviously reluctant to share her story. "Well, London apparently has this web show." she began derisively. "'_Yay Me!-'_"

"'_Starring Lon-don Tip-ton!'_" Cody finished with her, emphasizing every syllable of the heiress's name just the way she did. "Believe me, I know."

"Yeah?" Bailey asked. "Well then I'm surprised you don't know what's bothering me."

"She said something embarrassing about you on her show?" Cody guessed sympathetically. "I'm sorry Bailey. London's not a bad person, she just has no brain-to-mouth filter."

"More like, she just has no brain. And no heart either." Bailey said bitterly. "I _wish_ the problem was her saying something embarrassing about me. Yes, she mocked me in front of the whole world. She did an entire show going through my wardrobe and talking about how her backcountry roommate dresses like some inbred hillbilly! Thirty-seven million people saw my..." she paused, flushing red, and looked away from Cody. "My_ underwear._" she said in a hushed voice.

Cody pursed his lips in anger. "Oh, Bailey, I am so sorry. Sometimes I don't know what goes through her head!" His voice softened to a soothing tone. "But listen, don't worry. In another week people will be watching something else, and they'll have forgotten all about that show." he rested a hesitant hand on her arm. "I know you probably don't feel better right now, but the whole thing will blow over. No one will remember this. I promise." he hesitated before adding, "And if it helps, I like the way you dress. You always look great."

"Thanks, Cody. That's sweet." Bailey said, waving him off. "But you're right. I don't feel better." she pushed off the rail restlessly, taking a few steps away and then pacing back. "I wish the thirty-seven million people were the ones I was worried about." she confessed finally. "But the thing is..." she looked briefly at Cody, as if judging whether she could divulge this particular secret. Evidently she decided she could. "There's... this guy." She looked down at the deck, blushing.

Cody's heart plummeted into his stomach. _Of course there was a guy._ "A... uh. A guy. Oh." he stuttered.

Taking that as her cue to continue, Bailey ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I mean, he's so... And, just, wow... And..." she stopped, smiling ruefully. "I'm sorry, I'm sure you don't want to hear this. And I'm not even making any sense."

"No, go on." Cody forced himself to say. The way she saw this guy reminded him of the way _he_ thought about _Bailey_- too incredible to describe in words. "I get what you mean."

"Yeah." Bailey continued. "I guess it's kind of stupid, but I've kind of been crushing on him for a while." she winced. "That's pathetic, isn't it?"

"N-no." Cody assured her. "So... you like him."

"Yeah." she answered. "Like, a lot. But then yesterday, _after_ her little web show trashing my clothes, London decided I would make the perfect target for her _Boo You_ pranking segment."

Cody maintained an empathetic silence, waiting for her to elaborate.

Bailey rubbed her forehead. "She... oh, this is so embarrassing... she put something spicy in my sandwich when I was talking to _him_, and I... I spit it on him." She shut her eyes tightly, letting the full humiliation wash over her. "I actually _wiped my tongue on his tie._ I am such an idiot."

"No you're not." Cody said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "That prank was low even for London."

"Then this morning she and Woody moved my bed right onto the deck while I was sleeping, and the whole school saw me in my pajamas!" Bailey continued, ignoring him. "I was so mad at her, we got in a fight and we weren't speaking all day today, and then..."

"Then...?"

Bailey sighed, gesturing to the opposite side of the deck, where there was a single table set for two. The fine tablecloth was covered with crumbs, butter, and petals from the mangled roses lying in the middle of it. The candle in the center had long ago burned out. Until she pointed it out, Cody hadn't even noticed the table was there.

"So this afternoon I get an invitation slid under my cabin door." she went on. "And it says it's from, you know, this guy, and that he wants to have dinner with me tonight on the Sky Deck. So I immediately assume it's London, right? Setting me up for another prank? But... I wanted it to be true so badly that... I went anyway. And... he was actually there." she smiled, remembering. "He was so sweet. He pulled out my chair for me, and there were candles and flowers and a solo violin serenaded us... The deck was completely empty. It was so romantic. And then he told me that he thought I was adorable, and that he'd wanted to ask me out since the first time he laid eyes on me..."

She was practically swooning, and it was all Cody could do to staunch the feeling of jealousy rising up in his throat. "So what happened?" he asked softly.

Bailey sank down on a nearby deck chair. "He mentioned how glad he was that London had set the whole thing up for us, and I flipped out."

"What do you mean, flipped out?" Cody asked reluctantly.

"How many ways are there to flip out?" Bailey asked sarcastically. She waved her hand vaguely at the messy table. "I did that. I was so sure London had set up a video camera that I tore apart the food and the roses looking for it. I flung butter all over Holden..." she buried her face in her hands. "And then London comes and tells me there was no prank. She set up the date as an apology for embarrassing me."

"Holden, huh?" Cody asked quietly. "I guess he didn't think the whole thing was too funny?"

Bailey shook her head, too miserable to be embarrassed about accidentally revealing the name of her secret crush. "He said he _used_ to like me before I freaked out and threw food all over him." she sniffled, the tears returning.

"Heyyy_._" Cody murmured, sitting down beside her. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. After a moment of deliberation, he slid it around to her other shoulder, wrapping his whole arm around her in a half-hug. "Bailey, don't worry. I'm sure he'll come to his senses. What guy wouldn't _want_ you?"

"Guys who've seen what a freak I really am." Bailey muttered bitterly. "I had a chance with this incredible guy, and I blew it! I'm so stupid! He actually _liked _me, Cody!" She turned towards him, burying her face in his shoulder.

Cody felt her tears dampening his sweater. He wrapped his other arm around her- what else could he do? "You're not a freak, and you're _not _stupid." he said gently. "If Holden stopped wanting to be with you over a little butter, _he's _the stupid one. You were upset after what London did to you on her web show. He should have understood that." His throat tightened as he suggested, "Maybe if you explained the situation..."

Bailey shook her head, her hair tickling his face. "London went after him. I'm sure they've both forgotten _all_ about me by now."

"Impossible." Cody murmured into her hair. "You're smart, and sweet, and funny, and very, very beautiful. Take it from a guy: it would take a long time to forget you, Bailey Pickett."

Bailey pulled back slightly, eying him warily. "Are you making fun of me?"

Cody blushed, not because he'd been caught in a lie, but because he'd told much too much of the truth. "Of course not!" he assured. "You're awesome, Bails." He made sure to choose a more platonic adjective this time.

Bailey rolled her eyes, eyelashes still spiky with tears. "Don't you think you're laying it on a little thick, Martin?"

"Maybe you're confusing me with Zack. I'm _Cody_, the caring, honest twin." Cody joked.

Bailey gave him a watery smile. "Well you're a great friend, _Cody_." she teased back, carefully emphasizing his name. Then she reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm really glad I talked to you about this. Thanks."

"Anytime, Bailey. I mean it." Cody tried to ignore the disheartening 'friend' speech and focus on the fact that she was holding his hand, but it was difficult when she brought up Holden once more.

"You think London was serious about going after him?"

She was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth and Cody was forced to agree with Holden on one thing: she was completely adorable. "I think he'd be crazy to want London when he could have you." he said, not really answering the question. After London's behavior over the past few days, he was forced to admit that he had no idea what kind of hurtful things his old friend might put Bailey through.

"Oh, stop already." Bailey said. "If you think I'm so great then why don't _you_ date me?"

Cody's heart stopped as he floundered momentarily for an answer to her sarcastic rhetorical, but she simply continued on, "No sane guy is going to want some backwoods hick over beautiful, rich London Tipton."

Cody finally got his brain functioning again. "That's not true at all." he said quietly.

"You're sweet, Cody." Bailey huffed a laugh. "Why is this all so hard? Why can't the people we like just like us back?" Defeated, she leaned against Cody's shoulder, staring hopelessly out over the moonlit ocean once more.

"I don't know, Bails." Cody shut his eyes, trying to savor the moment, the smell of her hair, the feel of her body as she rested against him. "I don't know."


	2. Friendship and Vomit

A/N: Hey all. Thanks to everyone who's been reading, and especially my reviewers! Your comments mean a lot to me. To answer a question, this story is going to be ten chapters long. Don't worry, though, it's almost finished! Enjoy chapter two!

_

* * *

Friendship and Vomit_

"Hey, Cody!" Zack hissed from his position behind the juice bar. "Psst! Cody! Come here."

Cody sighed and walked over to his brother. "You realize that everyone on this side of the deck can hear you, Zack. What is it?"

Zack lowered his voice even more. "Distressed Farm Girl at 12:00."

Cody checked his watch. "What? Zack, it's 3:30."

"No, **twelve o'clock**." Zack said through his teeth, raising his eyebrows and gesturing with his head.

Cody just stared at him.

Zack gave up subtlety. "Dude, Bailey's sitting over there. She's on like her fourth Banana Fofana."

Cody's eyes widened and he looked over Zack's shoulder to where Bailey was, indeed, sitting at the other end of the bar, slurping at a banana smoothie with the air of someone drowning her sorrows. "Wow, she must really be upset." he said worriedly.

"That's what I'm telling you!" Zack hissed in frustration.

"What's wrong?" Cody didn't take his eyes off Bailey.

Zack shrugged. "All I know is she's vulnerable. I can sense it. Now is the perfect time for you to swoop in on her."

Cody gave his brother a disbelieving look. "You are a horrible person."

"Uh, no." Zack returned, "If I was a horrible person, _I_ would have swooped in on her already, like my manly instincts told me to."

Cody glared at him. "I'm not going to take advantage of her being upset." he paused. "But I _am _going to go over there and try to make her feel better."

"Have you _no_ manly instincts?" Zack questioned, raising his eyes to the sky. "Swoop, man! Swoop!" he snapped the dishtowel he was holding at Cody. "Swoop!"

Cody raised his hands and rolled his eyes, backing away from Zack. "I'm not swooping." He headed for the other end of the bar. Behind him he heard Zack murmur, "Swoop... it doesn't even sound like a word anymore."

Cody sat down on the stool next to Bailey's. "Hey Bailey."

"Hey." she muttered without looking up.

"What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing." Bailey sighed. "It's just, this school dance that's coming up next week."

"What about it?" Cody asked gently. "Don't you want to go?"

"I don't have a date!" Bailey answered. "What if no one asks me? What if no one wants to go with me?"

Cody folded his arms. "Four Banana Fofanas over the chance that no one will ask you to a dance that's a week away? I don't think so, Pickett. What's really bothering you?"

"How did you know how many I've had?" Bailey asked, embarrassed. "Have you been watching me or something?"

Cody gave her a half-smile. "I know the bartender."

Bailey looked over at Zack, wiping out cups on the other side of the juice bar, and smiled a little despite herself. "Right."

Cody touched her arm. "So what's really the problem?"

Bailey lowered her voice in confidence. "Holden asked London to the dance." she gave one last pull on her smoothie until the straw was sucking up nothing but air. "Zack!" she called.

"Sorry, sister, I'm cutting you off!" Zack called back, shaking his head.

Bailey slammed down her empty cup. "Goose darn it!" she muttered under her breath.

"Bailey, I'm sorry." Cody said, bringing her attention back to him. He wasn't sure whether he was more relieved that Holden wasn't taking Bailey to the dance, or more upset that she was unhappy. "I wish there was something I could do."

Bailey shrugged. "It's okay. I didn't really want to go to some stupid school dance anyway. It'll just be all 'swing your partner, do-si-do!' Ugh." She made a face to indicate how much fun she thought that would be.

Cody grinned, thinking she was joking. "It's a school dance, Bails, not a _barn_ dance."

"What?" Bailey didn't seem to understand the distinction. After a moment of thought a look of revelation crossed her face. "Sweet Grandma Moses, my high school was a barn!" she said to no one in particular.

Cody's hand was still laying over her wrist and he gave it a soft squeeze. "You shouldn't miss out on the dance just because of them, Bailey." Then he had an idea. Summoning his courage, he casually put forth, "Tell you what. I don't have a date either. How about if neither of us gets a date before the dance, _I'll_ take you?"

He noticed with chagrin that Bailey was starting to look a little queasy. "You mean, as friends?" she asked. "Or as... a date?"

"Uh, as friends." Cody answered automatically, before mentally slapping himself. "Or, or, as a date. Whatever."

Bailey smiled at him, but the sick look hadn't completely disappeared from her face. "Yeah, okay." she said. "But, um, I have to go... I'm really... I'm not feeling too-" Before she could finish her sentence, she doubled over, spraying yellow-colored vomit onto the deck and Cody's shoes.

Cody cringed, but leaped out of his seat to steady the teetering girl, rubbing her back until her stomach was emptied. "You okay?" he asked when she was finally able to straighten up.

Her face was red with humiliation. "Oh, Cody, I am so sorry! I, uh, guess I overdid it with the Banana Fofanas..."

"Don't worry about it." Cody told her. "You okay? Come on, let's get you back to your cabin." He wrapped a supporting arm around her as he led her off the deck.

Zack, who had evidently missed Bailey's little display of gastrointestinal distress, took a look at his brother leading Bailey below decks and mouthed, "_You dog._"

To which Cody couldn't help but mouth back, "_You, mop._"

* * *

"Ugh." Bailey rolled over in bed, tasting the sick tang of stale vomit in her mouth.

"Good evening, sleepyhead." London said, peering into her face. "How ya doing?"

Bailey scrubbed a hand over her eyes. "Evening?" she moaned. "What time is it?"

"Eight o'clock." London replied. "Don't worry. Plenty of time to finish that homework stuff you're always going on about... Are you okay? Cody said you threw up." She held out a bottle of water. "He also said to make you drink this when you woke up. He said you would probably be defrigerated."

"Dehydrated." Bailey corrected as she sat up, accepting the bottle. "Thanks. I'm fine now. Just a few too many smoothies." She took a long swig from the bottle. "I should go apologize to Cody for puking on him." She stepped out of bed, realizing that he must have taken off her shoes for her. "And thank him for taking care of me."

"Yeah, yeah, he's a sweet kid." London said airily. "Listen, when I asked him what was wrong with you, he said it was something I should talk to you about. What did he mean by that?" she asked. "He seemed kind of mad at me. Is... is it something contagious?"

Bailey shut her eyes briefly. "No." she sighed. "Look, I guess I was just a little upset, you know, about you going to the dance with Holden."

"I'm not going to the dance with Holden." London said, reclining on her bed and folding her long, smooth legs in front of her.

"What?" Bailey was confused. "I heard Holden say he was going to ask you!"

"He did." London shrugged. "I said no."

Bailey gaped at London in shock, unable to form words.

"I told him I wasn't interested in him like that." London said, picking self-consciously at her nails. "I like him, but not as much as _you_ like him. We might not be friends anymore, but you're still my roommate."

"London, I-" Emotion choked up in Bailey's throat. "Of _course_ we're still friends! The best! Come here!" she pulled the heiress up and into her arms for a hug.

"Oh, good!" London exclaimed, hugging her back. "I'm so sorry about the whole web show thing! I guess I was only thinking about myself, and not about how you were feeling! I was terrible, and I'm sorry!"

"It's okay, I forgive you!" Bailey returned just as emphatically. "Thank you, London."

"And Holden, he's all yours." London added. She pulled back and played with Bailey's hair fondly. "Tell you what, we'll get you so dolled up for this dance that hunk won't know what hit him!"

"Really?" Bailey grinned.

"Really really." London assured her. "But in the meantime, you might want to take a shower. You smell like old bananas."

* * *

A/N: Haha remember back when Bailey used to say stuff like "goose darn it"? Yeah, me neither.


	3. The Friendzone

A/N: Thanks again to all my readers! This chapter's a little short, but the next chapter is one of my favorites -review so I get to post it more quickly lol! Also, to clarify, Bailey is going to the dance with Cody as a friend, but she really wants to impress Holden while she's there. A good portion of the following couple of chapters were taken from my absolute favorite episode of SLoD, "International Date Line". You know it's your favorite episode too.

* * *

_The Friendzone: It's Like the Endzone, But You Don't Score._

"Cody!"

Cody heard someone shout his name as the final bell rang and the students crowded out of the home ec classroom. He turned around to see Reina, one of the girls in his class, fighting through the crowd to get to him. "Hi Reina. What's up?"

Reina smiled at him, tossing her long dark hair over her shoulder. "Nothing really." she said. "How are you?"

"Fine..." Cody smiled back, looking at her expectantly. He wouldn't be surprised if she was about to ask for homework help, or-

"I was wondering if you'd want to take me to the school dance." she said in one breath, obviously nervous.

"Oh." Cody's eyes widened. "Oh!" He was unsure, for a minute, what to do. Ever since he'd made the agreement with Bailey he'd been so excited for the dance, and yet, what he had with Bailey wasn't even a proper date. He knew that if some other guy were to ask her she would take the offer in a second. Reina seemed really nice, and she was certainly pretty, Cody couldn't deny that. And, unlike Bailey, she actually wanted to go with _him._ As a first choice.

"Reina," he began tentatively. "I'm flattered that you asked me, really. And I'd love to say yes, but I already promised a friend I'd go with her, so... Maybe I'll see you there?"

Reina's face clouded momentarily, but she recovered and gave him a predatory smile. "You bet." she said.

* * *

"You going to the dance tonight?"

Zack routinely entered his room without knocking, so Cody was completely unperturbed. "Yep." he told his brother with a smile. "I'm going with Bailey."

Zack raised his eyebrows in obvious disbelief. "Does she know about this?"

"Yes." Cody rolled his eyes. "We're going as friends. But hopefully, tonight is the night she'll start to see me as something more."

"_I _see you as something more _annoying_..." Zack said with a snort. "Face it, Codes. She ain't never going to see you as anything besides a friend. Everyone knows that once you're _in_ the friendzone, there's no getting out. It's like the maze on the kiddie menu at Benny's. No matter which way the horsie turns, he _always_ runs into a cactus."

Cody refrained from pointing out that the maze on the kiddie menu at Benny's was something most four year olds could successfully complete. "Did you come in here for a reason?" he asked dryly.

"Oh, yeah." Zack remembered. "I'm deejaying the dance tonight and I'm trying to decide which style to use..."

* * *

Cody took a deep breath to calm his nerves as he knocked on Bailey and London's cabin door the night of the dance. London opened it, peering out at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, is that Cody?" Bailey called from inside the bathroom. "Let him in, I'm almost ready."

London opened the door for him to enter, shooting a confused look at the bathroom door. "You're going with _Cody?_!"

"Hello, right here." Cody grumbled.

"Sure, as friends." Bailey said. "Since neither of us could get a real date. Okay, I'm ready." She opened the bathroom door.

She looked incredible. Cody couldn't stop himself from raking his gaze over her figure. Her dress flattered her slim figure while its bright yellow color gave her a playful air. Her upswept hair hung loosely over her bared shoulders. His eyes were invariably drawn to her lips. She was wearing red lipstick, a change from her usual pink lip gloss, and Cody couldn't help but think it made her look older- less innocent. He pictured himself walking across the room and taking her in his arms, tangling a hand in that silky hair, meeting those pouty red lips with his own...

"Cody!"

He started. "Yes?"

Bailey was looking at him in confusion, blushing deeply. "Are you okay? You were just... staring..."

He felt a flush creep over his cheeks as well. "Sorry, I just... you look really..."

"Fantabulous?" London suggested. "Hot-mazing? Sex-credible?" she cringed. "Look at that, I took it too far."

Smiling at Bailey, Cody settled on "Beautiful."

"Thanks." Bailey said. "You look great too."

"Yeah, but he won't be the one knocking Holden's socks off!" London said, elbowing Bailey teasingly.

"London!" Bailey protested, looking at Cody, but she was grinning.

Cody's shoulders dropped. How was he supposed to impress Bailey if she was going to be spending the night impressing someone else?


	4. If Chivalry Isn't Dead

A/N: Thanks, as always, to my wonderful readers. Enjoy this chapter, it's one of my favorites, and make sure to tell me what you thought!

* * *

_If Chivalry Isn't Dead, Then Who Did We Bury?_

Cody held out his arm to Bailey as they approached the doors to the Sky Deck. "Milady?" he said, in a joking manner.

Bailey giggled and looped her arm through his. "They said I'd never amount to anything, but look at me now, entering the ball on the arm of the boy with the highest G.P.A. in the class!" They both laughed and Cody held open the door for her as they stepped onto the deck and looked around in wonderment.

The deck was decorated in a "Sugar Fantasy" theme. Delicate spun-sugar roses adorned every table and colorful silk ribbons criss-crossed in a web-like canopy over their heads, allowing the starlight to shine through. A long buffet table (guarded by a pair of chocolate fairies!) housed a punch bowl, a shrimp platter, and other refreshments. Colored balloons and twinkle lights lined the railings.

"It looks... kind of magical." Bailey said in surprise.

"Yeah," Cody agreed. "Miss Tutweiller's dance committee really outdid themselves this time."

"Ah-whooooooo!"

They both jumped as a howl came over the loudspeakers. It didn't take Cody long to recognize the source of the out-of-place sound, spotting his brother at the DJ table in the corner.

"This is Wolfman Zack, spinning the hits of yesterday today and tomorrow baby, mmm!"

Bailey started chuckling. "That doesn't exactly fit the mood of 'Sugar Fantasy World.' Tutweiller is going to hate him!"

"She already does." Cody pointed out with a grin. There was a long, awkward silence as the pair realized they didn't know what to do next. Realizing their arms were still linked, they quickly disentangled themselves. "So..." Cody said slowly.

"Ooh, did you finish that proof for geometry?" Bailey spoke up, as if it was something she'd been meaning to ask him for ages.

"Yeah." Cody said. "It didn't take that long. I got there in four steps."

"Really?" Bailey said, a crease appearing in her forehead. "It took me five."

"I thought it would take five at first," Cody explained. "But then I realized if you start out with the Alternating Angles Theorem-"

"Oh!" Bailey cut him off with a gasp of understanding. "I didn't even think of that! Thanks!"

"No problem." Cody replied. He desperately wanted to turn the conversation away from academics, not wanting Bailey to see him as just her study buddy, but for some reason the only conversational topic he could come up with was their upcoming science project. _Quick, do something date-like!_ his mind urged him. "Shall I get us some punch?" he offered gallantly.

"Sure. Thanks, Cody." Bailey answered. "I'll save us some seats at a table." She scanned the seating area with an anxious look on her face.

She was looking for Holden, Cody realized enviously. On his way to the refreshment table, he made a detour to the DJ platform. Pulling a CD from his inside jacket pocket, he slid it across the table to Zack. "Hey Zack, I need you to play this song for me and Bailey." he requested.

"You got it, Code Red. I will add your song to the queue." Zack answered, taking the disc. "Your song is..." he scanned the obviously-long list of songs before Cody's.

Cody immediately got the picture. Rolling his eyes, he dug into his pocket, coming up with a five dollar bill.

Zack snatched it out of his hand. "Looks like your song is next." he said. He waved the money at Cody. "You know you _are_ my brother- I would have done it for free."

"Yeah, right." Cody muttered, turning back to the refreshment table. He ladled out two glasses of punch and made his way back to Bailey, who was standing by one of the tables talking to Woody.

"-And the doctor says, 'I see your problem: you're a little hoarse!'" Woody exclaimed as Cody joined them.

Bailey was frowning as she accepted her glass from Cody with a nod of thanks. "I don't get it."

Woody thought for a moment. "Oh, I forgot to tell you that the patient, is a pony."

"Yeah, that's important." Bailey told him.

"Note to self: Remember to tell Addison that the patient is a pony." Woody mumbled, walking away from them.

Cody sipped his punch. "Don't know how Addison is going to manage to resist _that_." he remarked.

Bailey elbowed him gently. "Aw, stop! I think it's cute!"

Cody wrinkled his nose. "Really?"

"Okay, like three parts cute, one part disturbing." Bailey conceded with a laugh. "Woody's creepy, but he's a good guy. He deserves to at least get a _dance _with his dream girl."

"I guess you're right." Cody said. He set down his glass as the opening notes of his song began to play.

"I love this song!" Bailey exclaimed.

"I know." Cody said. He'd heard her remark on how romantic the song was before. "I picked it for you. Do you want to-" Before he could finish his question he was interrupted by a deep voice from behind him.

"Hey Bailey."

Bailey's attention instantly deserted Cody. "Hi, Holden." she replied, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

Holden jerked a thumb towards the dance floor. "Care to dance?"

Bailey let out a high-pitched giggle. "Sure, Holden!" He held out his hand and she paused momentarily before taking it, casting an embarrassed glance at Cody. "Do you mind, Cody?" she asked belatedly, her eyes pleading for his approval.

Cody minded a lot. But the hopeful look in her eyes made him cave, even as his own heart plunged into his stomach. "No, no, go ahead." he answered in what he hoped was a pleasant voice.

It must have come out okay because as Bailey clasped Holden's hand and allowed him to lead her away, she turned back to him, excitedly mouthing _"Thank you!"_

Her smile kind of made Cody want to smile too, but that impulse went away as the pair reached the dance floor and Holden smoothly rested his hands on her waist. Her hands flew up to light on his shoulders and she gazed up into his eyes, curving those red lips into a smile directed only at him. They began to sway together slowly, sensually, and Cody, unable to watch, yanked out his chair and sank down in it, facing the opposite direction. He couldn't help but feel betrayed- if not by Bailey, then by the universe. He had been _so close_ to getting this dance with her. But for five seconds of ill-timing, this could have been _their_ song.

But then, if Woody at least deserved a dance with the person of his dreams, didn't Bailey?

Didn't Cody?

Cody could feel someone's eyes on him and turned around, grimacing as he realized Zack was watching him. The look on his brother's face clearly said, "_What happened?_" Cody just shook his head and turned away, reaching for his glass and taking a long swig of punch.

"Ahem." Miss Tutweiller took the DJ platform and checked her watch. "We will be crossing the International Date Line in three... two... one!" She looked around at her apathetic audience. "Well, that's it. Not much to it really."

Cody sighed, the fact that it was now tomorrow not having dulled the pain of tonight. What had he been expecting anyway? That this farce of a date would actually _mean_ anything to Bailey? That she would suddenly see him as a guy instead of a lab partner? That he could _actually_ escape the _friendzone_?

An unpleasant retching sound coming from the dance floor caught his attention, and he turned around just in time to see Holden empty the contents of his stomach onto Bailey's shoes. He wasn't sure whether to be amused on annoyed: on one hand, any romance happening between Bailey and Holden was clearly squashed for the time being. On the other, the scene evoked fond memories of just last week, when Bailey had agreed to come with him to the dance. _What is wrong with you, Cody? You've __got a sentimental attachment to vomit._

Cody couldn't help the hope that rose up in his chest as Bailey yelped and jumped away from Holden, looking at her ruined shoes in disgust and dismay. But then she pursed her lips and her eyes caught Cody's, and her face softened into an expression of pity and understanding. Stepping over the vomit, she took Holden's shoulders, rubbing large, gentle circles into his back. Cody couldn't hear what she said to him, but he could imagine well enough:_ Are you okay? Come on, let's get you back to your cabin. Here, let me help you. No, no, it's alright._

He watched as she supported the shaking Holden by the elbow, leading him off the deck without a backward glance. He threw his head back and finished off the punch he was drinking. Toying morosely with the empty glass, he was surprised to see the print of red lipstick on the rim.


	5. It's Only Cheating

A/N: Love you guys! Please review!

* * *

_It's Only Cheating If the Other Person Knows You're in a Relationship._

Nearly an hour later, Bailey had not returned to the dance. Cody had made the rounds, talked to Woody, Addison, and London for a while, complimented Miss Tutweiller on the decorations, but he was starting to wonder why he was sticking around at all. He had made up his mind to leave and was just returning to his table to fetch his jacket when he heard someone behind him clear her throat delicately.

"Hi, Cody."

Cody turned around and found himself looking into the smoldering dark eyes of Reina. "Hi, Reina." Looking gorgeous and confident as usual, she was wearing a short purple dress with a black sash. Her hair was pinned back on one side by a black rose barrette. Her lips were a vibrant fuchsia.

"I noticed your date abandoned you." she said lightly. "How about dancing with me?"

Cody looked out over the dance floor. Zack was playing a fast-tempo hip hop song, and his classmates were crowded together on the floor, bumping and grinding. "I'm not a very good dancer..." he hedged nervously.

"There's nothing to it." Reina assured him. "Come on, I'll teach you." She grabbed his hand and Cody allowed her to tow him to the edge of the dance floor. She swung their joined hands to encourage him to dance as she began to move her hips to the beat. When Cody began to get into the rhythm, she moved closer to him, resting her arms loosely on his shoulders and matching the movement of his body with her own.

Cody was breathing heavily by the time the long song thumped to an echo-y close, and a slow one began to play. "That was fun. Thanks for getting me on the floor." he said honestly, smiling at Reina.

"It was my pleasure." she said, raising her eyebrows teasingly. "You want to dance one more?"

"Yeah." Cody agreed. Slow songs he could handle. Wrapping his arms around her slim waist, he pulled Reina close, allowing her to wind her arms possessively around his neck. They were close enough that they could converse easily, and yet Cody couldn't think of a single thing to say to her.

"You look really great tonight." she said finally.

"Gosh, so do you!" Cody replied automatically. He mentally cringed. _"Gosh"?_

She laughed. "Thanks."

Cody fought to keep from stepping backwards as she took a step forward, closing the inches-wide gap between their lower bodies.

"I was hoping you'd notice." Reina murmured into his ear. "I like you a lot, Cody." she confessed quietly.

Cody swallowed hard. "Ah... thanks Reina. I- uh, like you too."

"Really?" she pulled her face back slightly, so that he could see the delighted expression she wore.

"Of course." Cody said genuinely. Reina wasn't Bailey, but she was pretty, and smart, and sweet. Why wouldn't he like her? "Maybe we could, uh, hang out sometime."

Reina smiled and Cody noticed up close that there were traces of lipstick on her teeth. "I'd like that." she said. "Maybe we could see a movie?"

"Sure." Cody said. "Just name the date." It was just an expression, but Cody realized immediately after he said it that that was what he was doing- making a date with another girl. Except she wasn't _another_ girl because he had no_ girl_ in the first place.

"Thursday." she said promptly.

"My favorite day." Cody replied, nodding his assent.

"Perfect." Reina purred in his ear. "I can't wait."

* * *

Cody was sitting on his bed, relaxing with a book, when he heard a soft knock on the door. "Come in!" he called, closing the book and setting it on his nightstand.

Bailey peeked her head through the door. "Hey, Cody..." Hesitantly, she entered and closed the door behind her. "Listen, I wanted to say I'm sorry for just leaving you at the dance last night. I should have at least told you I was leaving. It's just that Holden got sick, and-"

"It's okay." Cody said quickly. "I saw what happened. How is he?"

Bailey shrugged. "Not too good. We think he got food poisoning from some bad shrimp. I've heard a couple of other people got sick after the dance."

"Bummer."

"Yeah..." Bailey said, before brightening. "But on the bright side... he totally asked me out!"

Cody stood up, forcing himself to present a facade of excitement. "That's great!"

"Yeah!" Bailey agreed. "It wasn't quite as romantic as I pictured it, what with him leaning over the toilet in his cabin and all, but... he said he was sorry for ruining our dance, and my shoes, and that he'd like to make it up to me by taking me dancing on the Fiesta Deck next Saturday!"

"That was really... sweet... of him." Cody said, grimacing internally. On the first Saturday of every month there was a Latin Music night on the Fiesta Deck. For a small cover charge students were allowed to attend and salsa, meringue, and tango the night away.

Bailey laughed. "I guess now that he's embarrassed himself in front of me, we're even, you know? We're back on equal footing."

"Guess so." Cody answered, finding it difficult to keep up the pretense of happiness. How long was he going to have to stand by and hear about her infatuation with someone else?

"There's just this one thing..." Bailey shuffled her ballet flats across his carpet nervously. "You know how to dance, don't you?"

Cody was floored. "What? Uh, I... a little, I guess..."

"Would you teach me?" Bailey asked. When he didn't answer right away, she held out her clasped hands in a pleading gesture. "Please? I know it's a huge favor, and I don't deserve it after the way I've treated you lately, but I'll make it up to you, I promise!"

Cody shook his head. "It's not that at all, Bailey, I just don't know if I'd be the best person to teach you." Half of him desperately wanted to say yes, knowing it would mean an opportunity to get close to her, to spend time with her... the other half knew that saying yes would be a recipe for disaster. It would be impossible to hide his feelings for her, and even if he somehow managed to do that, he would just be crushed when she went off with Holden at the end of it all.

"Your friend Esteban told me you were in his dance class back in Boston, and that you even competed..." Bailey countered, trying to hide a smile at the idea of Cody doing the tango with Zack.

"Then maybe he forgot to mention that I got disqualified." Cody pointed out.

"On a technicality!" Bailey said in the same tone.

"Fine, but that was years ago!" Cody reminded her. "And Zack was better anyway. Maybe you should ask him."

Bailey twisted her fingers together. "I guess I could..." she said. "I guess I'm just not as close with Zack. Come on, Cody..."

"You know who's really good?" Cody suggested. "Mr. Moseby."

Bailey stared at him blankly. "Seriously, Cody?" She shook her head. "Okay... you don't have to teach me if you don't want, I just thought..."

Cody was rapidly realizing that despite knowing better, it was very difficult to refuse her anything. "Fine." he assented. "I'll do it."

Before he realized what she was going to do, she threw herself into his arms, squeezing him tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she chanted. "I owe you big time! If there's anything I can do for you, just name it!"

Cody hugged her back, pressing his cheek against hers, thinking that the only thing he wanted from her was the one thing he would never find the courage to ask.


	6. Best Ways to End a Date

A/N: Oh no, you guys, you're not supposed to hate Bailey! She's just never seen her friendship with Cody as anything more than platonic, and she assumes he feels the same way, and that he supports her trying to impress Holden. If he was just her friend, wouldn't he want her to get the guy she wants? Come on, you all have platonic friends you've never considered dating before!

_

* * *

Best Ways to End a Date: the Goodnight Kiss vs. Chewing Your Leg Off_

"Hey, Mr. Moseby." Cody greeted the ship's manager in passing as he went through the lobby.

As he passed the front desk, Mr. Moseby snagged him by the sleeve and spun him around. "Wait just a minute there!"

Cody threw his arms up in exasperation. "Mr. Moseby, I'm _Cody_! Can't you tell us apart by now?"

"I know who you are." Moseby frowned. "It's just that, about half an hour ago, the ship hit a big wave-"

Cody cut him off. "Oh my god, did _Zack_ do that?"

"What?" Mr. Moseby said. "No, no! This has nothing to do with Zack. I'm trying to ask you for a favor."

"A favor? Me?" Cody asked, folding his arms. "What is it?"

"Anyway, when the ship hit that wave, Mrs. Westfall, the home ec teacher, was... uh..." Moseby paused, cringing. "Chopping onions."

Cody's eyes widened. "Oh my... is... is she okay?"

"Well..." Mr. Moseby gave a sympathetic grimace. "Last time I checked, they had found all the fingers except the little one."

Cody paled.

"The ship's doctor says he should be able to reattach them." Moseby reassured him quickly.

"What... what did you want me to do?" Cody stuttered, trying to get the gruesome image out of his mind.

Mr. Moseby straightened his jacket by the lapels. "Well, while Mrs. Westfall... recuperates, Seven Seas High is in need of a new home ec teacher." He looked straight at Cody.

"Uh huh?" Cody prompted, waiting for him to continue. When Moseby's shoulders dropped in annoyance, Cody realized what he was intimating. "You want _me_ to do it?"

"It would just be for a few weeks." Moseby said quickly. "You would get full class credit for the semester. From what I remember from back at the hotel, you're an excellent chef." He raised his eyebrows. "Please, Cody."

"I wouldn't say _excellent_..." Cody said modestly, before his pride got the better of him. "Oh, who are we kidding? I guess I _am_ pretty excellent. All right, I'll do it." he acquiesced, already beginning to form a lesson plan in his head, nodding to himself. "All right, this could be fun." He walked off, still nodding, deep in thought about how he was going to run his class, only vaguely hearing Mr. Moseby's nervous voice calling after him.

"_Not too much fun! Cody! Cody?_"

* * *

Thursday afternoon, Bailey knocked softly on Cody's cabin door before letting herself in. "Hey. You ready?" she asked.

Cody shut his laptop and gave her his full attention. "You bet." He stood up and turned on the CD player on Woody's desk before looking her over subtly. She was beautiful,-as always- wearing a flowing knee-length skirt in a soft pink, with a ruffled white top and a pink flower tucked behind her ear. On her feet were a pair of white flats. "I thought you were going to try it with the heels today?"

Bailey shrugged. "You and I are the same height. I don't want to be taller than you." she said.

"Holden's taller than me." Cody pointed out reluctantly.

"So I'll wear them when I'm dancing with him." Bailey replied. She and Cody each grabbed one of the beds and dragged them up against the walls, just as they'd done every day this week, clearing a space to dance. She approached him, holding out her arms and waiting for him to take his position.

Cody pushed play on Woody's CD player and a vigorous salsa beat began to issue from the speakers. He faced Bailey, resting his left hand on her upper back and taking her left hand with his right.

They moved into the dance with the ease garnered from their previous five days of practice. As usual, Cody found that it was easier to look at a spot on the wall and not at her while they danced. He had steps to concentrate on, and she was entirely too distracting.

Bailey, on the other hand, seemed uncomfortable dancing in silence. Now that she was more confident in her steps, she often chattered about school or their friends while they danced. Today, however, she seemed reluctant to say what was on her mind. "Cody, today I heard... well, is it true that...?"

When she didn't finish her question, Cody looked over at her briefly. Seeing just how close her face was made him feel flustered, and he stepped on her foot. "Ooh, sorry." He resumed his blank stare at the wall. "What did you hear?"

The song ended and a slow, sultry bachata began to play. The pair shifted their steps to fit the 1-2-3-tap rhythm, swaying slowly from side to side.

"I heard Reina asked you to the Sugar Fantasy dance last week." Bailey said. "Why didn't you say yes?"

Cody had no answer to give but the truth, so he quickly changed the subject. "I'm the man, Bailey, how about letting me lead?" he said accusingly. "Remember, I choose the moves. You don't move-"

"Unless you move me." Bailey said softly into his ear. "I know."

Cody felt the blood rush to his face simply from the feel of her breath on his neck. He shut his eyes tightly, desperately hoping she couldn't see his physiological reaction to her nearness.

"Why did you tell me you couldn't get a date?" Bailey pressed. "Cody?"

Cody opened his eyes slowly, wincing. "Because I wanted to go with you." he answered.

Bailey stopped dancing and just stared at him. "What?"

"You know, you." Cody began to babble. "You, my good friend Bailey. Besides, if I'd said yes, that would have left you without a date again, which was the whole point of our agreement." He was pretty proud of himself for coming up with that excuse in the spot.

Bailey folded her arms across her chest. "So you went with me because you felt sorry for me? Because I didn't have a date?"

"Uh, no," Cody backtracked nervously. "I wanted to go with you because I thought I'd have more fun with you."

"You thought you'd have more fun on a pity date?" Bailey challenged. "Cody! The plan was for us to be pathetic together! If even _you_ could have gotten a real date then the only pathetic one is me!" She pouted in a manner that Cody found extremely endearing until he realized he'd been insulted.

"What do you mean, _even me_?" he said, hurt.

Bailey turned instantly contrite. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." she said, before making an ill-advised attempt to defend her reasoning. "It's just that, it's not like you've been on a single date since I've known you..."

_Maybe there's a good reason for that_, Cody thought, defeated and disheartened. Since she'd known him, the only girl he'd wanted to date was _her. _But it wasn't like he could tell her that. "Look, Bailey, I wanted to go with you because I thought it would be fun to hang out together. _Not_ because I felt sorry for you, and _not_ because I couldn't get a date."

Bailey pursed her lips, ashamed. "I'm sorry, Cody. I didn't mean to imply that you were just a last resort. I like hanging out with you too. We should do stuff together more often, just the two of us."

"Really?" Cody tried to quash the hope that welled up inside of him at her suggestion, but couldn't stop himself from smiling shyly at her.

"Sure." she said. "How about being my partner on the science project that's due next week? I'll let you do the pie charts..."

Cody smiled weakly. "Sounds like fun." He'd been hoping she'd suggest something more along the lines of a movie or someth- A movie. Cody started, suddenly remembering that he had a date today. He checked his watch surreptitiously. Uh-oh.

Bailey laughed, apparently not noticing the startled look on his face. "I was kidding. Hey, I've been meaning to try out that new water slide on the Lido Deck, but I'm too scared to go down alone. Maybe we could do that together."

Normally, her suggestion would have made Cody dizzy with anticipation, but currently his mind was occupied trying to figure out whether to tell her about his date with Reina, which was supposed to happen in five minutes. "Sounds great, Bails. Tomorrow?" he said quickly.

"Uh... yeah." she agreed, a puzzled expression on her face. "Cody, are you okay?"

"Yeah." Cody said, slightly flustered. "It's just that I just remembered... this is kind of funny, actually..."

"What?" Bailey asked with a smile.

"I kind of... have a date." Cody finished sheepishly. "Now."

There was a knock on the door.

"Oh!" Bailey said. "Well, okay. I guess I'll let you go then. Who with?" When Cody didn't move to answer the door, Bailey reached over and turned the handle. "Reina!"

Reina entered, furrowing her brow at the sight of Bailey. "Hi, Bailey." she said in a confused tone. "Cody? Are you ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah. Just a minute." Cody reached over and shut off the music, grabbing his keys and wallet off his desk.

"Did I interrupt something?" Reina asked slowly, looking between Bailey and Cody.

"No!" They both denied quickly, before looking at each other in confusion at the other's tone.

Bailey slipped past Reina and into the hall. "I'll see you tomorrow, Cody. Have fun, you two!"

Reina looped her arm through Cody's. "We will!" she smiled.

* * *

"What a movie!" Reina exclaimed as she and Cody walked together down the hallway to her cabin.

"What a movie, indeed." Cody said, in a much flatter tone. The movie playing tonight had happened to be a sappy, angsty romance. While Cody wasn't above enjoying the occasional chick flick, this certainly wouldn't be one of his top picks.

"Could you believe the end?" Reina sighed tearfully. "When he put the flowers and chocolate right on her tombstone!"

"Poetic." Cody agreed dryly. He was startled when Reina took his hand, stopping at one of the doors.

"Well, this is my cabin." she said shyly, facing him. She didn't let go of his hand. "I had a lot of fun tonight. Thanks."

Cody felt himself blushing under the warmth of her gaze. She wasn't being particularly forward, but being with her somehow made him feel... trapped. "Uh, you're welcome. I had fun too."

"Maybe we could... do it again sometime?" Reina suggested, using her free hand to toy with the ends of her hair.

"Maybe we could." Cody agreed, seeing no graceful way to reject her. But why should he reject her anyway? She was beautiful and smart, and she liked him, and it wasn't like anything was ever going to happen with _Bailey _anyway, especially now that she was dating Holden... He smiled at the girl in front of him, adding, "But next time, I get to pick the movie."

"Deal." Reina giggled. After a brief pause, she leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. "Well, see you tomorrow, Cody."

"See you tomorrow." he managed to reply before she slipped into her cabin and shut the door. Slowly, he reached up and touched his cheek where she had kissed him before turning and walking away from her door.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading- please review! I'm leaving the country in two days and I want to get as many chapters up as possible before I go!


	7. Quite the Slippery Slope Er, Slide

A/N: Two chapters in one day! (Don't let that stop you from reviewing!) You guys are the best.

_

* * *

Quite the Slippery Slide... Er, Slope...  
_

Cody sighed with satisfaction as the bell rang and the students filed out of his first-ever home ec class.

The beginning had been a little rocky, as he'd been extremely nervous upon realizing the class was composed entirely of girls (and Woody). Not to mention the way he'd frozen up at seeing both Bailey and Reina sitting in the front row. But Reina had sent him a wink, and Bailey a bright smile and a wave. They were both so sweet, and their support had given him the courage to continue.

Though some of the class grumbled about Mrs. Westfall's injury and their new substitute, some even threatening to switch into the art class, Cody quickly found his groove and won them over with a demonstration of how artistic cooking could be, fashioning a rose out of a tomato and giving it to a delighted Reina. From that point on, most of the class was figuratively (_and literally_, he thought with a smile) eating out of his hands.

Several of the girls waved at him shyly as they passed on their way to the door. Bailey stopped at his desk, looking amused. "Forget gazpacho," she teased, "Some of these girls look like they want to eat the_ teacher_."

Cody blushed and waved her off. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Fine." Bailey shrugged. "Just saying, bad timing getting a girlfriend. Looks like you could have had your pick of the class!"

Cody raised an eyebrow and leaned in confidentially. "Even you?"

Bailey studied the ceiling innocently. "I guess you'll never know."

Cody was stunned. Was Bailey actually flirting with him? "Ah, Reina's not my girlfriend. We just went on one date." he pointed out quickly.

"Uh huh." Bailey laughed. "Just don't let her hear you say that. We still on for the water slide later?"

"You bet!" Cody said enthusiastically. "Just give me time to clean up here and change. Meet you on the Lido Deck in an hour?"

"Perfect." Bailey said, cracking a mischievous smile. "See you then, _Sir Chef._"

Cody watched her leave, his heart beating a mile a minute. Was it possible that his chance with Bailey wasn't completely gone?

* * *

"So how are we going to do this?" Bailey turned to Cody, and in doing so caught a glimpse of how far they were from the deck. "Oh my gosh, we're so high up! I can't do this." She took a few steps towards the tall set of stairs they'd just climbed.

Cody caught her elbow. "Yes you can." Luckily the Lido Deck was quiet today, despite it being a Friday afternoon, so there was no line for the water slide urging them to hurry up and slide down. "I'll be right behind you, the whole way." he promised. Mentally summoning his courage, he turned her towards the opening of the giant tube slide. "Here's how we're going to do this." Standing directly behind her, he slid his arms around her bare waist. Bailey shivered, and Cody quickly yanked his hands away. "What? Is that okay?"

"N-no. Yeah... nothing." Bailey stuttered quickly. "Your, uh, hands are... cold. And I'm really nervous about this."

"About _this_?" Cody asked softly, pressing his chest against her back, locking his arms loosely around her waist once more.

Bailey turned her head as far as she could to talk to him over her shoulder. "About the _slide_." she whispered.

"Oh." Cody hoped she couldn't feel the heat he was sure was radiating from his flushed face. "It'll be fun. I promise." Gently, he nudged her forward and they both stepped into the cool pool of rushing, frothing water at the top of the slide. Cody sat down first, his feet at the edge of the tube, and after a long moment of nervous deliberation, Bailey hesitantly situated herself between his legs. Cody wrapped his arms around her securely. "Tell me when you're ready."

Bailey gave a shaky laugh. "I don't think I'll ever be ready."

Cody leaned in so that she could hear him over the sound of the rushing water, closing his eyes and allowing himself to feel the dampness of her hair against his cheek. "You're safe with me." he whispered into her ear.

"I know." Bailey responded, taking a deep breath. "Okay. Let's go!"

At her cue, Cody scooted them both forward just enough to be caught by the stream of running water, carrying them into the darkness of the tunnel. As the pair picked up speed, the tube slide enveloped them completely, and Bailey shrieked with a mixture of fear and delight. They were washed along twists and turns, sometimes in complete darkness, others in open passages allowing them to see how high up off the deck they were. Bailey's half-terrified screams prompted Cody to whoop in exhilaration.

Finally, they were washed down a steep drop before being unceremoniously dumped into the pool at the bottom. They surfaced, laughing and sputtering, and moved away from the mouth of the slide, standing in the chest-deep water. Cody's arms were still around Bailey's waist, and he didn't move them even as she spun around and threw her arms around his shoulders in a wet hug. "That was so much fun!" she cried with a smile. "Thanks for coming with me... Cody..." Their eyes met and her enthusiastic smile faded somewhat as she pushed his dripping hair out of his eyes, a shyer, more confused smile slowly replacing it.

Cody was having trouble thinking straight with her so close, warm, in his arms. "It was my... pleasure." he finally said. His embrace tightened around her, drawing her a half-step closer, and to his astonishment, her eyelids slipped shut. This was it, the moment he'd been waiting for since he met her. The perfect time to kiss her, and although he was no expert on girls, if he was reading her right... she actually wanted him to. Their lips were barely a foot apart. He inched closer, and-

"Cody! Hi!"

Cody and Bailey separated immediately at the sound of the female voice calling his name, breaking the spell. Blushing brightly, Bailey sank underwater, smoothing back her pool-tangled hair, while Cody grabbed the side of the ladder and hefted himself onto the concrete. "Reina! Hey!" Cody blurted, flustered. What exactly had just happened? He wasn't sure if he was more embarrassed that he'd been caught nearly kissing Bailey, or more frustrated that he'd been interrupted, or more ashamed that he'd been doing it in the first place, considering his situation with Reina. Was he supposed to feel guilty? He and Reina had only dated once- it wasn't like he was cheating on her... was it?

Like Bailey, Reina was wearing a bikini, although Reina's showed a lot more skin. She was also dry, the sunglasses perched atop her head indicating that she had more likely been sunbathing than swimming. "What's going on?" she asked, looking slightly hurt at having caught Cody with Bailey once again.

"Oh, nothing." Cody answered, taking a towel from the towel cart and beginning to dry off his face and chest. "Bailey was too scared to go down the water slide by herself, so I told her I'd go with her."

"Oh." Reina said. "That was nice of you." she looked over his shoulder at Bailey, who had evidently decided it was a good time to swim a few laps. "So when did you want to see that movie?"

"Uh..." Cody's head was still spinning from his near-kiss with Bailey, but making a date with Reina seemed like the worst thing he could do right now. But she was staring at him with her big brown eyes, and how was Cody supposed to tell her that he was interested in someone else? "Suh-Sunday night?" he stuttered quickly. "There's a suspense thriller playing that's supposed to be good." The assenting smile she gave him made his stomach tighten as he dropped his towel carefully into the laundry basket (so that the towel boy on duty wouldn't have to). One more movie wasn't going to change things between him and Bailey, he reasoned to himself. Or between him and Reina. Or so he hoped.

He shot a parting wave to Bailey as he left the deck with Reina, who was chattering about her idea for the home ec project he'd just assigned. He wasn't sure if she saw him, because she turned away without waving back.


	8. Absolutely Not, That Would Be Torture

_"Absolutely Not. That Would Be Torture."_

It was Saturday evening when Cody knocked softly on Bailey's cabin door. He didn't know what kind of masochism possessed him to come over now, when she was sure to be getting ready for her date with Holden, but some part of him just wanted to see her before she went. Probably the same part that was hoping she'd change her mind.

"Just a minute!" Bailey called from within. A few seconds later she came to the door. "Oh, hey, Cody! What are you doing here?"

Cody walked in, not shutting the door behind him. "I, uh, just wanted to return your science book. Thanks for letting me borrow it. Who knows what Zack's done with mine." he set the book down on her desk. "You, uh, you look really... good." She looked, as London would say, fantabulous. Her elegant black skirt flowed smoothly around her legs, a pair of strappy black heels giving them a few extra inches. A tight red top with fluttering sleeves gave the ensemble some spice. For about two seconds Cody let himself pretend that she had gotten dressed up for _him_ and not Holden...

Bailey smoothed her skirt with her hands nervously. "Really? Thanks. I'm so nervous."

"You have nothing to be nervous about." Cody told her. "You look great. And you dance great." To prove it he grabbed her hand and pulled her into a few experimental steps, which she followed easily despite the fact that there was no music. Feeling bold, he maneuvered her into a low dip- a move they had never practiced.

Suspended in his arms, Bailey looked up at him with a warm gaze. "That's not what I'm nervous about." she confessed softly.

"What are you nervous about?" Cody asked gently. When she didn't answer, he pulled her up and spun her out, leaving them standing straight and facing each other once more. "Bails?"

"Bailey, are you ready?" Holden was suddenly standing in the open doorway.

"What?" Bailey's head spun towards him. "Yeah! Yes."

"I, ah, just came by to drop off her book." Cody explained quickly. "See you later, Bailey."

"Wait!" Bailey grabbed his arm. "You've met Holden, right?"

Holden nodded. "You're in one of my classes. Zack, right?"

"Close," Cody said with a rueful smile. "I'm Cody. Zack's my brother."

Holden reached out to shake his hand. "Oh, Cody! You're the one Reina's dating, then?"

Cody flinched slightly as he shook Holden's hand. "Yeah, I guess that's me." he admitted.

"Nice." Holden said in congratulations. "Hey, the four of us should double date sometime."

"Uhm, well..." Cody fumbled for the words to say _absolutely not, that would be torture _in a way that wouldn't tip Bailey off as to his feelings about her.

"That sounds like fun." Bailey said, giving Cody's arm a little shake. "Let's!"

Unable to refuse her, as always, Cody manufactured a smile. "Well, Reina and I were going to do a movie tomorrow." he said. "You two could join us if you want."

"Sounds good." Holden agreed. "We could do dinner beforehand, too. What do you think, Bails?" He stretched a long arm around her shoulders and Bailey grinned.

"Sounds great!" She smiled at Cody, and he could swear she was trying to tell him something with her eyes. "See you tomorrow then, Cody."

"See you then." Cody returned. They parted ways outside of Bailey's room, and as soon as he was alone in the corridor Cody slumped against the wall, banging his head gently against the cool plaster. What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

"Cody, are you okay?" Reina asked, as soon as they were alone. Their double date with Holden and Bailey had been unremarkable, a slightly awkward dinner in one of the ship's diners, an action-packed but on-the-whole-predictable movie. "You've been making that face all night."

Cody looked up at her, startled. "What face?"

Reina raised her eyebrows. "Like you have a stomachache." They stopped once again outside her cabin door and she turned to him, slipping her arms around his waist. "What's on your mind, Cody? You can tell me."

Of course, telling Reina what was on his mind was the _last_ thing he could do, since the object of his thoughts was, as usual, Bailey. It had been so difficult to watch Holden touch her all night. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Bailey alone since Holden had interrupted them last night, and he kept losing himself in fantasies of what she'd been about to say to him... maybe she'd even wanted to talk about what happened Friday, after the water slide... Yet instead of taking her in his arms and finishing what he'd started in that pool, he'd been forced to sit next to her in the movie theater, watching her bury her face in Holden's arm during the scary parts. And Reina... well, she was still holding him, waiting for an answer. "I'm sorry, Reina. I've just got a lot of things on my mind." he apologized uncomfortably. He looped his arms around hers, resting his hands on her shoulders just to make their stance less awkward. It wasn't exactly an embrace, yet clearly it was close enough for Reina.

"Nothing you want to talk about?" she offered sweetly, leaning towards him, her intentions plainly visible on her face.

Cody couldn't lie to himself, couldn't pretend that it was Reina he wanted. Regretfully, he shook her off. "Sorry, nothing." he said, hating himself as he pretended to be oblivious to the fact that she was about to kiss him. "I had fun tonight. See you in class tomorrow!" Ignoring the hurt look on her face he backed away from her, nearly running down the hall and leaving her standing forlornly outside her room.

He found himself breathing easier once he was out of Reina's view, the crushing guilt of her failed expectations no longer pressing down on him. Heading back to his cabin, he stepped into the cool air of the Sky Deck and froze.

When he and Reina had parted ways with Bailey and Holden, he had assumed the other boy would be walking Bailey to her cabin just as Cody and Reina had done. But they were standing by the rail on the Sky Deck, holding hands. Evidently, Bailey and Holden's date wasn't over yet.

Cody's breathing difficulties returned. He watched, unseen, as Holden raised one large hand to cup Bailey's face. Cody couldn't see her expression, as she was facing away from him, but she didn't try to stop the tall boy as he lowered his head to meet her lips tenderly.

Cody felt a pang of physical pain in his heart and turned away from the kissing couple, smiling bitterly. He hadn't realized how literal all this 'heartache' stuff could be. He stepped back into the hallway where the girls' cabins were, not wanting anyone to know what he'd seen. He leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, trying to calm his painfully beating heart. Finally he straightened up and began walking, retracing his steps down the hall. He wasn't sure what made him do it. It was as if his will was taking a backseat to his instinct.

He reached Reina's door once again, tapping his knuckles on the frame. She answered it and smiled, and he stepped into her space and encircled her waist with one arm, bringing his other hand up to cradle her head as he leaned in and kissed her.


	9. You Can't Make an Omelet

_You Can't Make an Omelet Without Breaking Hearts... I Mean, Eggs._

"How was the end of your date last night?"

Cody jumped, startled, as Bailey came up behind him where he was folding towels on the Sky Deck. "Fine." he said quickly. "How was yours?" As if he didn't already know: watching Bailey get kissed by Holden had immediately become one of the most miserable experiences of his life... and he'd had some doozies.

"Fine." Bailey replied with a tight-lipped smile.

"Why do you ask?" Cody put down the folded towel and leaned forward on the counter.

Bailey gave a half-shrug and circled around him, coming to stand in front of the counter. "Just something I heard."

"From who?" Cody was getting a bad feeling about this.

"Reina." Bailey said with a wry smile. "It's not so much that she likes to kiss and tell... more like that she likes to kiss and tell _everybody._"

Cody groaned inwardly. He didn't know what had possessed him to kiss Reina last night, but jealousy was a pretty likely suspect. "Bailey, it wasn't-"

Bailey put up her hands to stop him. "You don't have to explain anything to me, Cody. You're not dating me. It's just that I kind of thought..." she trailed off with a self-deprecating smile. "Well, nothing. It's stupid."

"What?" Cody frowned and leaned toward her. What wasn't she telling him?

"Forget I said anything."

Bailey started to walk off the deck but Cody grabbed her by the hand, turning her back around to face him. "What is it, Bails?"

"Nothing." she insisted. She stared down at their clasped hands, and as he watched, she gently removed her hand from his grip. "So... I broke up with Holden last night." she said lightly, seemingly changing the subject.

Cody was floored. "What? You- you did? Why? After everything-" he stopped, his face darkening as protectiveness began to well up inside of him. "He didn't... hurt you, or anything like that, did he? Did he, Bails?" He didn't know what he would do if she said yes, but he would find a way to make Holden pay.

"No, no, nothing like that." Bailey put a gentle hand on his shoulder, touched by his concern for her.

Cody breathed a sigh of relief. "Then why?" he asked softly. He couldn't believe this was happening. She had pined over Holden for months, and then after eight days with him she sent him packing?

"I... don't know." Bailey confessed. She removed her hand from his shoulder. "I just don't really know." she gave him a sad smile. "I'll see you in class, okay?"

"Yeah." Cody breathed. He watched her walk off the deck, wondering what exactly she had been trying to say.

* * *

"Addison, you're going to want to take that sugar off the heat." Cody advised. "It's already caramelized and it's about to start burning."

Addison rushed to pull the pan off the stove, pouring the brown liquid sugar into the flan mold. "Thanks Mr. Martin. This is so exciting, I've never made flan before, I've never even tried it before, not even when we were in Spain, but I did try a lot of stuff, I tried churros, and marzipan- mmm, that was so good!- and-"

Cody cut her off with a friendly pat on the back. "I'm sure your flan will turn out great, Addison. Just try to keep your attention on cooking." He walked back toward the front of the room, stopping at each table along the way to check on the progress of the students. He had given today's lesson a Spanish theme, and each set of table-mates was working on preparing two Spanish recipes of their choosing.

He stopped by Reina, who was busy sautéing shrimp for her seafood paella. "Looking good, Reina." he nodded.

"Thanks." she beamed, before sending him a wicked smile. "Oh, did you mean the shrimp?"

"Ahem." Cody cleared his throat, looking down self-consciously. He quickly turned around and found himself face-to-face with Bailey, who was seated across the aisle. They smiled at each other. "How's it coming over here, Bailey? Woody?"

"Good, I think." Bailey said with a nod. "The gazpacho is ready. Want to try some?"

"How much did Woody do?" Cody countered in a hushed voice, seeing that his roommate was currently distracted, intently supervising a Spanish omelet in a frying pan. He and Bailey both laughed.

"None." Bailey returned in a likewise whisper. "Pretty much he just peeled the potatoes for the omelet."

"Well in that case, I'd love to try some." Cody smiled warmly at her. He noticed Reina frowning at him, but ignored her as Bailey picked up the bowl of reddish soup, scooping some onto a spoon.

"Open up!"

Cody allowed her to feed the soup into his mouth. "Mm, Bails, this is really good. Very authentic." he praised.

"Yeah?" Bailey was obviously pleased. "Thanks. Oh, wait, you've got a drip." she plucked a napkin off the table and dabbed at the corner of his lip. Their eyes met, and Cody felt his face turn warm. "There." she said after a minute, but she didn't remove her hand.

Cody reached up and encircled her wrist with his fingers. "Thanks." he said softly, his gaze still locked on hers as he lowered both their hands slowly to the table.

Reina crossed the aisle, looking between Bailey and Cody with a petulant frown. "Can I try some?" she asked loudly.

Bailey and Cody jumped apart, startled. "Sure." Bailey said, pushing the bowl into Reina's hands. Rolling her eyes, Reina took the bowl and set it back on Bailey's table without trying any, before returning to her own table in a huff.

"What's wrong with her?" Cody frowned.

"Sir Chef?" Woody spoke up. "Can you help me? I'm afraid to flip this."

"What are you afraid of, Woody?" Cody asked, mystified.

"Mainly that I won't catch it." Woody said matter-of-factly.

"I could try." Bailey volunteered hesitantly. "After all, it is half my project."

Woody covered his eyes. "I can't look."

Bailey reached over and grabbed the handle of the pan. "It can't be that hard." she said nervously, the pan wobbling slightly in her grip.

"It does take some practice." Cody said. "Here. I'll help you." He moved behind her and placed his hand over hers, steadying the shaking of the pan. "Ready? On three." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Reina glaring at him again. What was the matter with her today? His cooking instincts taking hold of him, he focused back on the hot frying pan. "One... two..." With each count he jostled the pan slightly, making sure the omelet wasn't sticking to the pan. "Three." he lifted Bailey's hand in a precise and practiced motion, expertly flipping the omelet and catching it neatly in the pan before setting it back on its burner.

Someone behind him started clapping, and soon the whole class was applauding.

Woody peeked through his fingers. "Is it over? Oh, good." he raised his eyebrows at the omelet in the pan. "Mmm. Looks good enough to eat."

Bailey laughed at him. "That's kind of the point!" She flung her arms around Cody's neck in a hug. "That was great, Cody! You're so good at this!"

Cody held his arms out. "Hey, I just flipped it, you made it." he winked at her. "So if it tastes bad, it's on you." Bailey laughed, and although he would have liked to stand there with her forever, he became conscious of the fact that the rest of the class was still watching them. Reluctantly, he separated from her, clapping his hands briskly. "All right, folks. Get back to work!" he walked back towards his desk, at the front of the room.

Bailey picked up a wooden spoon and started spooning her gazpacho from the bowl into a plastic container when Reina marched angrily across the aisle. "Can I see that for a minute?" she asked sweetly, pointing at the spoon. Shrugging, Bailey handed it to her, only to be shocked when the brunette promptly snapped it in half.

"Hey!" Bailey cried. "What's your problem?"

"Hey!" Woody echoed.

Cody spun around at the sound of the snapping spoon. "Reina! I'm surprised at you! Disrespecting kitchen utensils is an automatic demerit. I'm afraid I'm going to have to lower your grade."

Reina flung the broken spoon to the ground. "Disrespecting kitchen utensils?" she cried indignantly. "What about disrespecting other people's relationships?"

"What?" Cody asked, confused.

Woody snorted. "Uhh... this is a cooking class, not a _relationships _class." he said. "Am I right? Helllloo?"

"Well it would be a lot easier to cook if I didn't have to worry about all these other skanks trying to steal my boyfriend!" Reina burst out.

"_Skanks_?" Bailey repeated venomously. "Watch who you're talking to, sister-" She was cut off when Reina grabbed the bowl of gazpacho from the table and unceremoniously dumped it over her head. "Reina!" she crowed, sputtering as rivulets of soup streamed down her face. "You are so dead!" Reaching blindly behind her, Bailey grabbed a pair of eggs, bringing them forward and smashing them on Reina's forehead.

"Girls! Bailey! Reina!" Cody cried. Reina and Bailey ignored him, squaring off against each other.

The rest of the class fell silent. Woody chuckled nervously. "Is anybody going to make the 'egg-on-her-face' joke? Anybody?"

Reina lunged over and grabbed an egg of her own, winging it at Bailey, who ducked before it could hit her. It flew over her head and hit Woody in the chest.

"I'm hit!" he cried.

"How _dare_ you?" Spitting mad, Bailey picked up a full stick of soft butter, pressing the greasy, melty mess onto Reina's face.

Reina stumbled backwards, trying in vain to wipe the oily remnants of butter from her cheeks. She picked up a handful of raw shrimp off her own table and flung them at Bailey, who shrieked.

"Girls, girls!" Cody yelled. He stepped into the aisle, attempting to separate them. "What has gotten into you?"

"She destroyed my soup!" Bailey accused.

"She tried to seduce you!" Reina said at the same time.

Bailey's mouth dropped open and she pointed at Reina. "She's _crazy!_"

Reina grabbed a potato masher from the table behind her and lunged at Bailey. "Watch who you're calling crazy!"

Bailey produced a whisk to defend herself, holding Reina back by pressing the wiry, egg-covered instrument against her neck. "Well, if the _straightjacket_ fits...!" she retorted.

Cody stepped between them, which was the worst thing he could have done as he was immediately hit with a clump of bread dough from one side and a mushy tomato from the other, neither of which were meant for him. Recoiling, he slipped in Bailey's spilled gazpacho, falling flat on his butt.

"Sorry, Cody." Bailey said, contrite. She reached down a hand, which Cody took, and helped him up.

"See?" Reina cried, gesturing at their clasped hands. In frustration, she flung the potato masher, which also hit Woody in the gut.

"Oof!" he groaned. "I so better be getting an A in this class."

"See what?" Bailey shot back. "Cody and I are friends! Deal with it!"

"Uh huh." Reina challenged snidely. "But why don't you look me in the face and tell me you don't want to be_ more_ than his friend?"

"What?" Bailey exploded. "Don't be ridiculous! Cody?"

Cody looked over at her. "Yeah?" There was a long pause as Cody, along with the entire class, waited for her to deny the allegations.

"Tell her she's being insane?" Bailey reminded him. "You're the teacher. Do something."

"Oh, right." Cody stood as straight as he could. "Reina, clean this up. I'm giving you detention." He turned to Bailey regretfully. "You too, Bailey."

Bailey pursed her lips in anger, but nodded.

"Fine." Reina hissed. "If that's how you want it, you and I are through!"

"Fine with me!" Cody yelled back as she stormed out. "_Crazy_." he muttered under his breath.

As the door shut behind her the entire class once again burst into applause.

* * *

A/N: Please review- only one more chapter to go. What did you think of my little remix of Kitchen Casanova? :P


	10. Noone Respects The Sanctity of Detention

A/N: It was pretty cruel of me to leave you one chapter away from the end, so I'm posting this from an Internet cafe in Galway! Enjoy the end and don't forget to review! (I'll have to catch up on my reading when I get back to the good old U.S. of A. in a week or so!)

_

* * *

Nobody Respects the Sanctity of Detention Anymore._

Feeling nervous but excited, Cody entered Miss Tutweiller's room after school. Bailey and Reina were sitting on opposite sides to the room, Reina looking sullen, Bailey bored. Cody recognized a few other students, including London, who was filing her nails with the intense concentration of a doctor performing surgery, and his brother, who was occupied trying to discreetly flick a paper football out of the open porthole.

"Miss Tutweiller, I need to speak with Miss Pickett."

Miss Tutweiller smiled tiredly at her favorite student. "Cody, Bailey is in detention. You can talk to her when she's no longer being detained."

"I know. I sent her to detention." Cody said. "It's detention for my class."

"Well if you didn't want her in detention, then why did you give her detention?" Miss Tutweiller asked pointedly.

"I just need to speak with her." Cody reiterated.

Miss Tutweiller threw up her hands. "All right. Bailey, just go." she said. "Nobody respects the sanctity of detention anymore."

Zack looked up as Bailey crossed the room and left with Cody. "Is it just me, or is 'detention' starting to not sound like a word anymore?"

* * *

Cody stifled a smile, shooting a surreptitious look at Bailey as they walked down the corridors side-by-side.

"Can I ask where you're taking me, Mr. Martin?" Bailey asked. It looked like she was having a hard time keeping a straight face as well.

"Bails, I'm not taking you anywhere." he confessed with a grin. "I just busted you out of detention."

"My hero." she fake-swooned with a roll of her eyes. "Although it would have meant more if you hadn't _sent_ me there in the first place."

Cody spread his hands. "Come on, I had to. The entire class was watching. And you _did_ participate in what can only be described as a food fight."

"I know." Bailey looked at her feet. "Fine. But Reina started it." She ran a hand through her now-clean hair. "I'm just glad Queen Tut gave us time to go shower before detention. All that soup cannot have been good for my hair."

"I don't know, I thought you looked pretty good as a redhead." Cody joked, earning a swat from Bailey.

They came to her cabin and she fumbled in her pocket for the keys before letting them both in.

"So... London's in detention." Bailey said, explaining her roommate's absence unnecessarily, since Cody had just seen her in Miss Tutweiller's room. She flopped down on her bed, while Cody perched on London's. "Cody, about earlier... I'm sorry Reina broke up with you. I didn't mean to ruin things for you." She twisted her fingers together, a guilty look on her face.

"Hey..." Cody said. "It wasn't your fault." _Not directly, anyway._ "Reina's just crazy."

Oddly, this seemed to make Bailey feel worse. "Yeah, I know." she chuckled. "Imagine, you and me. Crazy."

Cody's heart leapt into his throat. "That's not what I said." He put his elbows on his knees, leaning into the space between the beds.

Bailey was blushing again, trying hard not to meet his eyes. "Oh."

Cody swallowed hard. He and Bailey were finally alone together, they were both single, she was looking at him from under her eyelashes... If there was ever a time to man up and be straight with her about his feelings, this was it. But just as he opened his mouth to speak she began to talk.

"Cody, I..." She stood up suddenly, restlessly walking to the other side of the room.

Cody stood as well, desperate to confess his feelings before he lost his nerve again. But she seemed like she had something important to say, and he couldn't exactly cut her off... "Yes?"

She started playing with her hair absently. "You'll think _I'm_ crazy."

"No, I won't." Cody shook his head, taking a small step toward her. "You can tell me anything, remember?"

"There you go, being all sweet and thoughtful again..." Bailey muttered with a rueful smile. She took a deep breath and straightened up, still not meeting his gaze. "Okay... I think..." she broke off, placing a hand on her forehead, and started again. "Cody, I think I might be having feelings for you."

Cody's eyes widened. Did she really say what he'd thought she just said? A feeling of ecstatic exhilaration began to well up inside of him. "Bailey-"

She held up a hand to stop him. "At first I thought I just didn't like Reina, but... I realized what I really hated was her being with _you_. And then, in class earlier, when she dared me to deny that I wanted to be more than your friend..." She bit her bottom lip between her teeth and risked a glance at him. "I... just _couldn't_."

With every word she said, Cody's heart swelled a little bigger. "Bailey, I-"

"I know it's crazy, and random, and I don't want things to be awkward between us, because you're one of my best friends." she continued quickly. "It's just that, when I think about you kissing her..." She shut her eyes tightly. "I can't stand it, Cody. I can't stand it when I think about you kissing _any_ girl... besides... _me_."

"Bailey..." Cody breathed, sensing that she was finally finished with her confession. He felt incredible, overcome with joy, and at the same time, touched. It obviously took a lot of guts for her to come out and tell him this- he could hear the fear in her voice that she was ruining their friendship by saying it. Even now she was standing with her eyes squeezed shut, her muscles tensed, almost as if she was preparing for a physical assault and not just an emotional rejection.

Didn't she know that he would _never_ hurt her?

After the leap of faith she'd just made, he owed her nothing less than complete honesty. "Bailey. I never wanted Reina." he told her in a low, sincere voice. "It was always, _always_ you." Her eyes were still closed when he rested one hand on her cheek, gently thumbing her hair back before touching his lips to hers. The kiss was brief and chaste, but Cody had never experienced anything so amazing.

Bailey was shaking when they separated; Cody thought he might be too. Her eyelids fluttered open and he suddenly found himself staring into her warm brown eyes. "Really?" she whispered, the beginnings of a smile touching her lips.

"Since I've known you." he confessed quietly.

She shook her head, confusion clouding her gaze. "But... this whole time? While I was mooning over Holden? That must have been..."

Cody snorted softly, mostly at himself, for putting himself through the entire Holden ordeal. "I wanted you to be happy, Bails."

"Cody..." He watched in shock as her eyes grew shiny. "That's the most..." For some reason he was entirely unprepared when she brought her hands to his shoulders and kissed him impulsively, the crackling electricity of their first kiss intensified into real heat.

Her lips were soft but insistent against his, and he let his instinct take over, their mouths moving together naturally. He felt her teeth scrape his bottom lip, and a shiver escaped down his spine, prompting him to wrap his arms around her waist, obeying that intense need to get closer... Bailey made a noise that was halfway between sigh and moan, and Cody couldn't help but smile against her mouth, pressing a series of short kisses against her lips and cheek.

"Wow..." Bailey breathed, looking at him through half-lidded eyes. She leaned her forehead against his and confessed with a tiny smile, "I've wanted to know what that would feel like since the other day at the pool... I was so sure you were going to kiss me then."

"I was." Cody admitted. "We got interrupted before I could."

"I know, I was surprised by how disappointed I was." she smiled ruefully. "It just never occurred to me what kissing you would feel like... I was so stupid." Bailey closed her eyes. "Holden kissed me last night." she told him. "And all I could think about was how there was no sparks, no electricity when he did. You didn't even have to touch me for me to feel it with you." She opened her eyes and smiled shyly. "That's why I broke up with him. Even though I knew you were with Reina, I couldn't be with the wrong guy for another second."

Cody huffed a laugh. "I was only with Reina because I wasn't brave enough to say no to her... at least, until she started insulting _you._ And I only kissed her because I saw you kissing Holden, and I was jealous beyond words." It felt amazing to tell her all this, to get the feelings he had hidden for so long out in the open, and to see her smile because she liked what she heard.

"I was so jealous of Reina!" Bailey returned. She grinned guiltily. "I _know_ it was wrong, but it felt _so good_ to egg her in the face earlier!"

"As a teacher, I shouldn't take sides." Cody said, before lowering his voice playfully. "But she had it coming."

"For disrespecting kitchen utensils?" Bailey teased.

"No." Cody planted a kiss on her jaw. "For disrespecting my girlfriend."

"She _was_ your girlfriend." Bailey reminded him, with a delighted smile at what he was actually implying.

"Not anymore."

"That's right," Bailey said, looping her arms possessively around his neck in a way Cody took to mean_ yes, I will be your girlfriend._ "Not anymore."


End file.
